Transport Hassles: Seriously, what the hell. I get up this morning, get out of bed, and suddenly I find myself on the convention floor in a cardboard box. I don't remember being stuffed in the box, I just remember the feeling of being tossed around in my corrugated cage as I was dragged to the convention center. People, I have two working legs and I can take the subway - I don't need to be treated like a FedEx shipment. Still, my escort was that charming "Snake" fellow. He's awfully... (More)

After stumbling into the convention center this morning with a grande caramel machiatto in one hand, and a bag of exhaustion in the other (and it was only the second day!), I needed some good ol' retail therapy.

Accessories

I've never understand the general obsession with fairies-- or, as many fantasy nerds like to call them-- "faeries." They don't seem to serve much of a purpose, they're all slightly bitchy looking, and they remind me too much of Tinkerbell, whose attitude earned my hatred even at a young age. But, for everyone else who likes these mystical... (More)

Well, it’s the last day of the show, so that means this is the final installment of Weird Stuff. Let’s get right to it!

Sunday is usually the last day of the convention, and one time-honored tradition con attendees always adhere to is celebrating the final day of the show by not coming at all. Here you can see said celebration already taking place in the exhibit hall.

One of many goth clothing booths on the dealer’s floor, this one is called “Timeless Trends”, presumably because goth fashion has not changed in any... (More)

Paul checks out the crude but effective sequel to a troubled anime series about fighting giant bugs on Mars, plus a breakdown of all this week's new anime releases!― Something about living in the Northeastern US has a tendency to warp one's mind in very particular ways. As I was digging my car out of half a foot of snow last week, I caught myself thinking, "The weather's not too bad today." You kno...

Crunchyroll and Funimation's short-lived romance is over - but why? Justin has a few angles on what happened, and what might happen next.― Jonathon asked: Funimation ended the partnership with Crunchyroll recently, and a bunch of their shows are getting pulled off of VRV, which sucks. Why did this happen? What will happen to the two companies? Should I be concerned that one of them is going to go a...

This supernatural romance's longest arc yet arrives at its climax in a volume that demonstrates all of this manga’s strengths and weaknesses. Nick Creamer has the details.― The Ancient Magus' Bride's eighth volume ended with Elias betraying Chise's trust so completely that he drove her into the arms of their mutual foe, the mysterious Cartaphilus. Across this ninth volume, both Cartaphilus' and Chis...

Miss any of the big headlines from this weekend's Anime NYC? We've got them all in one place, plus a boatload of cosplay photos!― November 16-18, 2018 New York City Cosplay Galleries Cosplay Gallery I Cosplay Gallery II Day One Headlines Aniplex USA to Release Black Butler Season 1 on Blu-ray in January Aniplex USA Announces Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online English Dub Cast (Update) I ...

DanMachi returns to telling smaller self-contained stories as Bell reaches Level 4 in his training. Theron Martin has the details.― With the three-volume arc involving the Xenos now complete, writer Fujino Omori returns both to carrying out a pure dungeon crawl and to telling an entirely self-contained story. That's not to say at all that this is an isolated story; some elements and consequences of ...

While voice actors and anime production staff are common guests for overseas conventions, why is it so much less common for manga artists to make the journey? Deb Aoki has the answers.― Why don't more Japanese manga artists come to N. American comic / anime conventions? It's largely a matter of time, availability and money. Most manga artists, especially those who have series that are published on ...

Ryo Mizuno, creator of wars both Lodoss and Grancrest, talks up his long and storied career in novels and RPGs alongside the producer of the new Grancrest War mobile game from Bandai Namco.― Ryo Mizuno's career has been pretty spectacular – both a novelist and a game designer, Mizuno made his mark after creating a legend with the blockbuster fantasy novel series Record of Lodoss War back in 1988 (wh...

This slice-of-life drama where rich kids must grapple with a meritocratic system has some fascinating ideas, but ultimately can’t come together into a greater whole. Nick Creamer has the details.― There's a certain subgroup of anime high school dramas that I've come to essentially see as “Catcher in the Rye shows.” Echoing the defiantly cynical yet extremely naive perspective of Catcher's Holden Cau...

To celebrate the upcoming special theatrical event of MIRAI on November 29, December 5 & 8, GKIDS is giving away awesome stuff to ONE lucky winner!― From acclaimed director Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children) and Japan's Studio Chizu comes MIRAI, a daringly original story of love passed down through generations. To celebrate its upcoming special theatrical event on November 29, December 5 & ...